This is the second transmissible cancer known to affect the species. The other form, which was first observed in 1996, is also spread via bites and results in facial tumors, but is genetically distinct.

Known as devil facial tumor disease, the parasitic cancer has been blamed for significant population declines in recent years, as devils are known to bite each other frequently during mating and feeding. In 2008, the IUCN categorized the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) as Endangered, noting that some individual populations are now a mere tenth of their original size.

Some devils are immune to devil facial tumor disease, and captive breeding programs have been initiated as a last-ditch effort to ensure the species' long-term survival.

"Until now, we've always thought that transmissible cancers arise extremely rarely in nature, but this new discovery makes us question this belief," the University of Cambridge's Dr. Elizabeth Murchison, senior author of a new study about the cancer, remarked in a news release.

"It makes us wonder if Tasmanian devils might be particularly vulnerable to developing this type of disease, or that transmissible cancers may not be as rare in nature as we previously thought."

As we ease into the weekend, what better way to wind down than by looking at photos of cute wombats?
We begin with the closest thing the world has to a celebrity wombat, Patrick. A resident and top attraction at Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria, Australia, Patrick comes by his fame thanks to his size. As you can see he's just honking enormous. He's also old, and fat -- oldest and fattest among all wombats, in fact, at 29 years old and 88 pounds at last check. Patrick has his own Facebook page, and he even has his own

OK, we lied. He's too cute for just one slide. Here's Patrick not even hardly trying to look cute but succeeding at it anyway. The Ballarat Wildlife Park people say Patrick is so famous he's even been visited by actor Nicolas Cage. We'll pause a moment while you picture that for yourself.

Wombats are marsupials, toting around their young in pouches. Baby wombats spend nearly half of their first year in the mother's pouch. By the latter half of the year, though, they're ready to leave the pouch and make it on their own.

There are two type of wombat: hairy-nosed and bare-nosed (also called common). They can live for anywhere from around 5 years in the wild to 30 years if they're in captivity. They're native strictly to Australia and a few nearby islands.

Unfortunately, their innate drive to make burrows makes wombats vulnerable to angry farmers and ranchers who take umbrage and the stocky little mammal's accidentally destructive ways. For this reason, they're often hunted. Watch your six, little fellas.